A young military scale modeler at work

SCU: Scaling it up (or down?)

Hey to all, and welcome to a brand new Scale Modelers Union’s topic! This time we are looking at something that usually generates a lot of response within the hobby.

SCALES

Yes indeed, no matter what they might say, size DOES matter! Many of us have various reasons to stay true to a certain scale, wether it be our budget or a certain demand of detail wished from the subjects we like to build. Personally, I started out with the idea of bigger is better, wishing to build solely 1/32 aircraft. This idea didn’t last long, as it soon turned out many aircraft just weren’t available in 1/32, and I scaled it down to 1/48.

For me this scale actually brought along quite a lot of advantages. It fits really well into my own budget and it isn’t too small. Most of subjects that I want are available and detail wise it doesn’t take tooooo much effort like 1/32 does. Another added bonus is that there are quite some other subjects to be found in 1/48 aside from airplanes, like armour, a few ships and cruise missiles. But above all, every era in aviation is well represented from WW1 all the way through to the F-35, which is just entering its service life.

But why not mix it up a little?

Simple.

The reason why I like staying true to one scale has a few reasons. The ability to compare all my models to one another in size. It is just fun to see how large a P-51 is in comparison to let’s say, a B-17 or MiG-25. It brings a certain amount of perspective to have the ability of comparing one model to another. Plus it prevents the stash of taking even larger proportions than it is now, as I won’t be actively looking to buy anything in another scale.

Although I will swear my allegiance to 1/48 by high and low, I do have my exceptions. Those who know me know I like to throw in a 1/35 model on my bench from time to time, which I will build and paint in a fictional racing scheme for the heck of it. This just to give the finger at the seriousness of accuracy within my 1/48 builds and lay off some steam, not being scared to screw up whatever I’m building while I’m attempting some new techniques.

Does this mean I get mad at seeing a cool airplane being released in the ‘wrong scale’? Not really, except when they release a new whatever which has been done a dozen times in said scale, but never in 1/48, leaving a hole in the market…